It doesn’t need to be game day for your to enjoy some of your favorite finger food. Our Buffalo chicken salad brings all those beloved flavors to greener pastures. With a mix of juicy poached chicken, fresh vegetables, and of course, that signature Buffalo sauce and blue cheese, you’ll find yourself being fed and nourished all at the same time. Discover the recipe below!
How to Make Our Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe
Buffalo chicken has earned its name not from the animal, but from the city. As legend goes, our beloved Buffalo sauce was invented in Buffalo, New York, sometime between the mid-1960s and early ’70s by the bar-owning Bellissimo family. As their son once explained to The New Yorker, many of their patrons were Catholic and could begin eating meat again at midnight on Fridays. Since chicken wings were a cheap cut of meat at the time, his mother had the idea to fry them and toss them in a sauce made of cayenne pepper and butter. The wings were a hit, and just like that, the iconic Buffalo chicken was born.
We’re big fans of that signature flavor. There’s something magical about the way vinegar and heat mingle, especially when paired with juicy chicken. With a salad base, it’s possible to enjoy all the best that this signature finger food brings, while still being energized for the rest of the day, or night. In this desire for lightness, we’re omitting the butter for our recipe, but we believe poaching the chicken still delivers that same tender bite.
If this is your first time poaching chicken: Don’t worry! We’ve got some tips. The most important thing is to avoid too much heat. Poaching is all about gentle and slow cooking. Start by bringing about five cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the chicken breasts and immediately reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Let the chicken cook gently for about 20 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Then, remove it from the pot, it should be juicy and ready to soak up all that bold Buffalo and tangy blue cheese flavor. We wish you happy eating!
For other chicken mains, try our other recipes like our chicken in yogurt sauce, chicken empanada pizza pie, and chicken and rice skillet with vegetables.
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 garlic clove smashed and peeled
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 5 cups water
For the salad:
- 4 cups chopped romaine hearts
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped
- 4 celery stalks chopped
- 1 seedless cucumber peeled and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- blue cheese dressing on the side for serving
For the buffalo dressing:
- ¾ cup buffalo wing sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- For the chicken: Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Then, place the chicken breasts in a medium saucepan with the garlic clove and a generous pinch of salt. Cover with water.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then add the chicken. Reduce the heat to low and poach for 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F / 74°C). Remove the chicken and let rest until cool enough to handle, then shred or dice it.
- To make the buffalo dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the buffalo wing sauce, olive oil, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Test and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Prepare the salad: In a large bowl, combine the romaine, arugula, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and chives. Add the chicken and toss gently.
- Finally, drizzle the buffalo dressing over the salad and to to coat. Top with crumbled blue cheese and serve with a side of blue cheese dressing.